[Journal entry for June 16, 2018; Stillman Trail, Black Rock Forest, Cornwall New York]. I parked at Route 9W and Peck’s Road in the late afternoon of a mostly sunny day. I walked a short way along that woods road to Holse Road (another woods road). The weather has been dry this week and only a little water is flowing in the brook that parallel’s Peck’s Road. The vegetation now has the deep greens of summer. Holse Road heads south into the Forest, rising slowly and steadily for about two miles. I passed several glacial erratic boulders of sandstone. The trees along this road are especially tall. One has a burl near its base that makes the trunk look like a giant cat’s paw. The road parallels a little stream as it nears the Two Gates intersection, the Sphagnum Pond outflow stream. I climbed down to the streambed and walked upstream over a series of rock ledges, stepping over the pools of water between them. I then visited a wetland with dead trees that is further upstream. It is decorated with the purple blossoms of Irises. I then joined the Stillman Trail (blazed in yellow) and took it northeast, up the flank of Black Rock Mountain. The summit has bare areas, composed of tan (not black!) ledges of Highland gneiss, the rock that makes up most of the Hudson Highlands. The ledges are edged with Blueberry, Scrub Oak and Pitch Pine. The view to the north, usually excellent, was rather hazy today. Nevertheless, I could see the Hudson River flowing across the lower and flatter land that borders the Forest on its north side, and which extends northward all the way to Shawangunk Ridge, thirty miles away.

I backtracked to Two Gates, and then continued about a mile along the Stillman Trail, which follows the crest of Golden Ridge. Blueberry bushes are in bloom beneath the rich green canopy of the woods. I paused to view several small wetlands, full of swamp bushes and jumping frogs. I connected with the Black Rock Trail (blazed in white) and took it a short distance to Split Rock overlook. It is one of the best views in the Forest, because it overlooks Sutherland Pond and the rolling hills on it far side. The overlook itself is very pretty, with blooming Mountain Laurel bordering knobs of tan rock. I could see the Fire Tower, beyond the north end of the pond, and the wetland that borders its south end. I sat on one of the rock ledges, enjoying the late afternoon sun and the beautiful view.

I then continued along the Spilt Rock Trail, taking it down to Sutherland Road (a woods road). I walked south along the shore of Sutherland Pond to a point where I had a good view of its waters. The shores of this and the other ponds in the Forest are particularly beautiful this time of year, for they are decorated with the white-to-pink blossoms of Mountain Laurel. I then retraced my path and connected with Chatfield Road, which I took eastward, first past Sphagnum Pond and then past Tamarack Pond. I could find no easy access to the shore of Sphagnum Pond; my route was blocked by several hundred yards of Mountain Laurel, the tangles branches of which are very difficult to traverse. But I found three excellent vantages from which I could view Tamarack Pond: by the dam; by a rock ledge at a point where the road wanders very close to the shore; and beneath Spruce trees near the picnic pavilion called Moretti Outpost. The second was full of truly spectacular Mountain Laurel.

I connected with Continental Road (a woods road) at the Stone House (a hiker’s cabin). I spent a few minutes walking the short Walter’s Walk Trail down to the shore of Arthur’s Pond. The sun was getting pretty low on the horizon, and while the eastern shore opposite me was still brightly lit, the western shore where I stood was now in shadow and the nearby waters were a deep purplish-blue. I then rejoined Continental Road and took it east to White Oak Road (a woods road). I followed this road to just past the inlet stream of Aleck Meadow Reservoir and then took a less-travelled road along the shore to the dam. I passed a little peninsular that was full of beautiful Mountain Laurel. I crossed the outlet stream below the spillway and connected with the Black Rock Hollow Trail (blazed in white), which leads steeply downhill and back to Peck’s Road (a woods road).

I was a bit taken aback when I saw what appeared to be the blue waters of a pond ahead of me. I knew the route passed no ponds and at first thought I had taken a wrong turn (which would have been inconvenient, given the lateness of the evening). Fortunately, I was seeing the roof of the Filtration Plant on Peck’s road. I took one small detour down to the stream that parallels the road to view a little waterfall, as I walked Peck’s Road back to my car.

I stopped for a snack and soda at the Food Mart at the Mobil Gas Station, on Route 9W at Garrison Road in Ft Montgomery New York, as I drove home.

This was a rather long evening hike – about six miles in four hours.